Chapter Summaries

After Kakashi and the others left the infirmary, Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina found the lunches Kushina had left and ate together. They reflected on the Chunin Exam competitors and their teacher Morino Ibuse, then went to bed early before the next test.

• Kakashi, Obito, Rin, Might Guy, Genma, and Ebisu said goodbye and left the First Training Ground.
• Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina found Kushina's packed lunches by the infirmary door and ate them.
• Chiba considered what Kakashi and Genma had told him about the exam contestants Shiga Takeyoshi and Kinoi Kento and their teacher, Morino Ibuse.
• Yukina cleaned the lunch boxes, packed them away, and left for home after reminding Chiba and Hirohiko to rest before the next test.
• Chiba and Hirohiko went to sleep after their exhausting battles.

On the morning of the final test, Chiba and Hirohiko recovered from their injuries and joined Yukina for breakfast with Kushina Uzumaki. Kushina warned them that the remaining candidates were formidable, leaving Chiba convinced that the test would judge their ability to carry out missions and determined to take it seriously.

• Chiba and Hirohiko waited in the infirmary, wondering what the final test would involve.
• Yuriko removed their bandages and confirmed that both had recovered, while warning Chiba not to overexert his newly healed right hand.
• Yuriko also confirmed that Yukina's wounds had left no scars.
• Kushina Uzumaki arrived with breakfast, and Yukina served the boxed meals to Chiba, Hirohiko, and herself.
• Kushina Uzumaki warned them not to become careless because the remaining candidates were difficult opponents.
• Chiba concluded that the final test would assess mission execution and resolved to take it seriously.

Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina arrived at the Death Forest for the final test, where Orochimaru announced a team-based battle over a confidential scroll. The three remained together as a team, but the attacking and defending sides had not yet been determined.

• Kushina stayed behind while Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina left for the final test, warning them with a raised fist not to fail.
• Chiba and his teammates arrived at the 44th Training Ground and found nine other examinees watching them as potential rivals.
• Yukina gave Chiba a ninja tool pouch that Kushina had asked her to pass along.
• Orochimaru arrived as Chief Examiner and explained that teams would fight at the Death Tower: attackers had to take a confidential scroll out of the tower, while defenders had to protect it for three days.
• Orochimaru assigned examinees standing in the same row to a team and called for each team captain to draw lots for their side.

Chiba’s team drew the defending side for the final test, while Shiga Takeyoshi’s team became the attackers. After Orochimaru announced that teams had to spend their previous-test points to buy maps before entering the Death Forest, Chiba realized his team’s two-point map left them at a major disadvantage.

• Chiba noticed that Kinoi Kento, Shiga Takeyoshi, and Hyuga Yukyō were grouped together, then drew a lot that put his team on defense.
• Orochimaru showed interest in Chiba, who nervously tried to disguise his wariness by claiming he was afraid of snakes.
• Shiga Takeyoshi’s group drew the attacking side, and Orochimaru announced that teams had to buy maps with their combined points before entering the forest.
• Chiba’s team had two points, so he bought the cheapest map, while Shiga Takeyoshi paid six points for a better one.
• Chiba realized that Shiga Takeyoshi’s team had secured a substantial advantage over his defenders.

After buying a crude map of the Death Forest, Chiba devised a plan to counter the attacking teams and tried to recruit Kanno Satoru’s group. The chapter ended with Kanno misunderstanding Chiba’s idea and proposing that the defenders simply stay outside until the three days were over.

• Chiba studied the map with Hirohiko and Yukina, then said they needed to reach the Death Tower quickly and hinted that he had a way to make it in time.
• Chiba approached Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru and found that Kanno planned to follow the map’s route to the Death Tower and defend its terrain.
• Chiba dismissed Kanno’s plan as inadequate and began explaining that Orochimaru had not specified when the defending teams had to enter the Death Forest.
• Kanno interrupted Chiba, assuming the plan was to stay outside and prevent the attackers from entering, while Aso Sasuke and Kusunoki Masaru praised the idea.
• Chiba realized that Kanno’s group had misunderstood him and silently despaired over their poor judgment.

Chiba tried to explain a strategy for the defense team to delay entering the forest and travel at night to avoid interception, but Kanno Satoru rejected it and favored rushing ahead. The chapter left Chiba frustrated as Kanno insisted on taking responsibility for his teammates and refused to trust Chiba’s plan.

• Kanno Satoru, Aso Sasuke, and Kusunoki Masaru praised Chiba’s plan, while Chiba realized he needed to explain it more carefully.
• Chiba explained that delaying the defense team’s entry would postpone the test, but Kanno questioned the idea and assumed the plan was unreliable.
• Chiba proposed stalling and traveling at night so the stronger attack team would have a harder time intercepting them along the best route.
• Kanno suggested abandoning the best route and moving quickly, prompting Chiba to explain that the attackers could use their map to intercept them.
• Kanno rejected Chiba’s plan as risky and said he had to protect his teammates’ chance to pass the Chunin Exams, leaving Chiba furious.

Taki Chiba delayed the final test while trying to persuade Kanno Satoru, making Shirakawa Izumi’s team impatient. Once the Chūnin ordered them to begin, Chiba entrusted the test to Kanno, who entered Death Forest determined to win.

• Shirakawa Izumi grew agitated as Taki Chiba and Kanno Satoru continued discussing their plan, while Shiga Takeyoshi worried that the delay concealed something.
• Kinoi Kento mocked Chiba, and Shirakawa’s group decided to urge the Chūnin to start the match.
• Shirakawa Izumi asked the Chūnin to begin the final test, and they went to tell Chiba and Kanno that the group had run out of time.
• Taki Chiba agreed to follow Kanno Satoru’s plan, whispered something to him, and entrusted the final test to him as captain of the defending alliance.
• Kanno Satoru vowed to defeat the opposing team, and he, Suke, and Masaru followed Chiba’s group into Death Forest.

Shirakawa Izumi and Shiga Takeyoshi entered the Death Forest with their teams, confident that their map-based plan would defeat Chiba’s group. Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina ambushed them at the forest entrance, where their opponents mistook Chiba’s Shadow Clone for a deliberate diversion and hesitated over how to respond.

• Shirakawa Izumi and Shiga Takeyoshi reviewed their plan to take separate routes through the forest, while Hyuga Yukyō wondered whether Shiga’s doubts would cloud his judgment.
• After the ten-minute delay ended, Shirakawa Izumi, Shiga Takeyoshi, Hyuga Yukyō, and Kinoi Kento entered the Death Forest and prepared to split up.
• Hyuga Yukyō spotted figures concealed in a tree, and Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina emerged after dodging the team’s five Kunai.
• Hyuga Yukyō recognized that the Chiba before them was a Shadow Clone and searched for the real Chiba, but found no one nearby.
• Shirakawa Izumi decided to leave the clone to Hyuga Yukyō’s group and hurry after the other three, while Shiga Takeyoshi and Kinoi Kento grew suspicious and angry.
• Chiba saw that his opponents were reacting as he had expected and smiled, confident that Hyuga Yukyō would not act rashly.

Shirakawa Izumi's team slipped past Chiba's group while Shiga Takeyoshi's team was delayed by Chiba's Shadow Clones and false claims about a shortcut strategy. Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina continued toward their destination, leaving Shiga's team to pursue them.

• Shirakawa Izumi threw shuriken to distract Chiba's group, then led his companions along the route ahead while Chiba's group stayed behind.
• Chiba claimed that defeating Shiga's team would let his group use their 6-Point Map to catch up with Shirakawa and attack from both sides, convincing Shiga Takeyoshi and Hyuga Yukyō that he had a larger plan.
• Kinoi Kento charged Chiba and cut down a Shadow Clone, while Shiga and Yukyō struck Shadow Clones disguised as Yukina and Hirohiko.
• Kinoi Kento berated Yukyō for being fooled, and Yukyō acknowledged the deception before warning Shiga not to attack Lady Yukina again.
• Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina regrouped elsewhere, checked their route on the 2-Point Map, and hurried onward.

Chiba’s team rested briefly before planning to travel through the night toward the Death Tower, while Shiga Takeyoshi ordered his agitated teammates to stop for two hours. The smoke from Chiba’s fire rose from a point closer to the tower, leaving Shiga worried that his team’s delay would cost them the lead.

• Chiba had Hirohiko light a fire and told him and Yukina that they would rest for five minutes before traveling nonstop through the night.
• Chiba explained that their route put them about half a day from the Death Tower and that their Shadow Clones had bought them time to recover.
• Shiga Takeyoshi ordered Kinoi Kento and Hyuga Yukyō to rest, but both resented the delay and wanted to reach the tower ahead of Chiba.
• Shiga insisted on his authority as captain and ordered the team to rest for two hours, so Kinoi and Hyuga reluctantly complied.
• Shiga noticed a thin wisp of smoke rising from a location closer to the Death Tower and worried that Chiba had gained an advantage.

Chiba’s team left a campfire on the optimal route, drawing Shiga Takeyoshi’s team toward Death Tower despite Shiga’s suspicions. Meanwhile, Shirakawa Izumi’s team caught up with Kanno Satoru’s team and attacked them, leaving the two teams fighting in the forest.

• Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina resumed their journey, leaving their campfire burning behind them.
• Shiga Takeyoshi spotted the smoke and tried to keep Hyuga Yukyō and Kinoi Kento from rushing ahead, but both departed and Shiga followed.
• Shirakawa Izumi’s team ambushed Kanno Satoru’s team with kunai and claimed they had already lost without Chiba’s help.
• Kanno Satoru rejected Shirakawa Izumi’s taunts and charged, and the teams began fighting.

Shiga Takeyoshi, Kinoi Kento, and Hyuga Yukyō pursued Chiba’s group through the forest, unaware that their trail led into a trap. Kinoi triggered an explosive wire near Death Tower, leaving Chiba and his companions to assess the blast as the final test effectively ended.

• Shiga Takeyoshi inspected the recently extinguished campfire while Kinoi Kento identified footprints and Hyuga Yukyō found no one within his Byakugan’s range.
• Kinoi Kento and Hyuga Yukyō rushed after the three people ahead, while Shiga Takeyoshi followed uneasily and feared they were walking into a trap.
• At dawn, Hyuga Yukyō spotted Chiba’s group outside Death Tower, and Kinoi Kento charged toward them with his Ninja Sword ready.
• Kinoi Kento caught his foot on a thin wire, triggering an explosion that blasted him, Hyuga Yukyō, and Shiga Takeyoshi at the edge of the woods.
• Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina turned toward the blast, and Chiba reassured Yukina that the Exploding Tags were not powerful enough to kill anyone.

The Third Hokage and the Sannin watched Chiba’s tactics in the final test and praised his intelligence, while also recognizing Shiga Takeyoshi’s potential. The chapter ended as Shiga Takeyoshi’s team launched a counterattack against Chiba.

• The Third Hokage and the Sannin observed Chiba’s team and marveled at his tactical skill.
• The Third Hokage and Orochimaru explained how Chiba exploited a loophole to enter the Death Forest early and delay the attacking teams with Shadow Clones.
• Tsunade described how Chiba used his clones and a campfire to unsettle Shiga Takeyoshi’s teammates and lure Shiga into a trap.
• The Third Hokage praised Shiga Takeyoshi’s composure and potential, and suggested arranging a tactical instructor for him when he became a Chunin.
• The Sannin each wanted to train Chiba, but their attention shifted when smoking Kunai with Exploding Tags landed at Chiba’s feet.

Chiba, Hirohiko, and Yukina fought Hyuga Yukyō, Kinoi Kento, and Shiga Takeyoshi through a coordinated exchange of traps and ninjutsu. Both teams regrouped after narrowly avoiding serious injuries, leaving the clash unresolved.

• Chiba's team escaped the exploding tags, while Yukina used her Byakugan to spot Hyuga Yukyō and Kinoi Kento being pulled from the blast by Shiga Takeyoshi's steel wires.
• Hirohiko launched a Gale Slash to clear the smoke, and the opposing trio emerged from the woods and attacked with shuriken as Chiba raised an Earth Wall.
• Kinoi Kento leaped over the wall and attacked Chiba with Sparrow Flash, but Hirohiko's wired shuriken disrupted his strike and Chiba dodged it.
• An unseen attacker smashed through the Earth Wall with Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, but Yukina's counter forced the hand to withdraw before it could hit Chiba.
• Chiba threw a kunai at Kinoi Kento as Hirohiko fired a Great Fireball, but Shiga pulled Kento behind the wall and Hyuga Yukyō deflected Yukina's follow-up kunai.
• Both teams retreated and regrouped as Chiba released the Earth Wall, and the six ninjas faced each other with the fight still underway.

Chiba's group launched a coordinated attack against Shiga Takeyoshi's team, targeting Shiga with a huge swarm of shuriken. Shiga realized Chiba was aiming to eliminate him first, but Hyuga Yukyō leaped in front of him and used Rotation to defend them.

• Chiba warned Yukina and Hirohiko that Shiga Takeyoshi and Kinoi Kento were dangerous opponents, while the groups prepared to fight.
• Shiga ordered Kinoi Kento to follow his commands, and Hyuga Yukyō agreed to the plan.
• Chiba and Hirohiko formed the hand seals for the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu and sent a vast swarm of shuriken toward the opposing team.
• Shiga realized that Chiba was targeting him, and Hyuga Yukyō leaped in front of him and activated Rotation.

Hirohiko, Yukina, and Chiba used coordinated feints and attacks to defeat Kinoi Kento and trap Shiga Takeyoshi. The chapter ended with Hirohiko's Dragon Fire Technique engulfing Shiga in flames.

• Hirohiko's Great Fireball and Yukina's Exploding Tag Kunai forced Hyuga Yukyō to use Rotation, while Hirohiko and Yukina dodged Kinoi Kento's wind blades.
• Hyuga Yukyō realized Chiba was underground and warned the others that Kinoi Kento was his target.
• Kinoi Kento stabbed at Chiba's apparent Headhunter Jutsu, but Chiba's Shadow Clone vanished as the real Chiba attacked from behind and knocked Kento unconscious.
• Hirohiko bound Shiga Takeyoshi with wire and used the Sharingan: Windmill Technique to pin Shiga's shuriken in place.
• Hirohiko sent Dragon Fire along the wire, engulfing Shiga Takeyoshi in flames.

Chiba’s team defeated Kinoi Kento and apparently Shiga Takeyoshi, then pursued Hyuga Yukyō into the forest. Shiga revealed that he had faked his defeat with an Earth Clone and used the pursuit to put Plan B into motion.

• Hirohiko and Chiba coordinated to take down Kinoi Kento and Shiga Takeyoshi, leaving Hyuga Yukyō as the sole apparent opponent.
• Hyuga Yukyō fled into the forest, and Chiba’s team chased him despite Yukina questioning whether they should guard the Death Tower.
• Shiga Takeyoshi’s apparent body crumbled into earth, and the real Shiga checked that Kinoi Kento was unconscious and unharmed beyond his injuries.
• Shiga explained that Plan A relied on Shirakawa Izumi entering the Death Tower by another route, while Plan B used an Earth Clone and a fleeing teammate to draw Chiba’s group away.
• Shiga realized Chiba’s team had taken the bait and continued pursuing Hyuga Yukyō, giving him a chance to retrieve the Confidential Scroll.

Shiga Takeyoshi’s cautious approach to the Confidential Scroll seemed to secure his victory, but Chiba had secretly disguised himself as the scroll and ambushed him. The Third Hokage and the Sannin watched in shock as Chiba struck Shiga, leaving them wondering when he had entered the Death Tower.

• Wuyue checked the path and stone platform for traps before approaching the Confidential Scroll.
• The Third Hokage and the Sannin praised Wuyue’s caution and believed he had turned the battle around through his backup plan.
• Wuyue took hold of the scroll but sensed something was wrong as it burst into white smoke.
• Chiba appeared disguised as the scroll, grabbed Wuyue’s hand, and punched him into the wall with Monster Strength.
• The Third Hokage’s pipe fell as he and the Sannin watched the ambush and questioned when Chiba had entered the Death Tower.

Shiga Takeyoshi realized Chiba had used a decoy and a time gap to mislead the opposing teams, then questioned Chiba’s belief in idiots and learned the Confidential Scroll was not at the tower. Shiga admitted defeat, recognizing Chiba’s plan had been a trap.

• After Taki Chiba’s Shadow Clone struck him down, Shiga Takeyoshi deduced that Chiba had entered ahead of them and left a transformed clone as a decoy.
• Chiba explained that he had anticipated Shiga’s Plan B and asked why Shiga had not trusted Kinoi Kento’s judgment or considered that Kanno Satoru might stop Shirakawa Izumi.
• Shiga realized he had underestimated Kento and Kanno because he viewed himself and other hard workers as idiots compared with geniuses.
• When Shiga asked what Chiba would do if Shirakawa defeated Kanno, Chiba revealed that the Confidential Scroll was not there.
• Shiga understood that the supposed backup plan was a trap and admitted that he had lost.

Chiba’s team won the final test by exploiting its rules, but the Chunin Exam results did not promote them. The chapter ended with their qualifications reserved, leaving Chiba convinced the Third Hokage had invented the designation to keep them from becoming Chunin.

• Chiba’s group secured victory after Shiga Takeyoshi surrendered and the other teams lost their ability to fight, though Chiba failed to catch Hyuga Yukyō for the beating he wanted to give him.
• At dawn on the fourth day, Chiba, Hyuga Yukyō, Hirohiko, and Yukina returned to the Death Tower, where the Sannin gathered the examinees to announce the results.
• Tsunade named Shiga Takeyoshi, Kinoi Kento, Hyuga Yukyō, Kanno Satoru, Shirakawa Izumi, Mizutani Rin, and Mito Kiko as those who passed, prompting protests from Kanno Satoru and the other examinees.
• Tsunade announced that Taki Chiba, Uchiha Hirohiko, and Hyuga Yukina had their Chunin qualifications reserved, and Chiba suspected the Third Hokage had created the designation to prevent them from becoming Chunin.